St. Louis Stage Capsules

Dennis Brown and Paul Friswold suss out the local theater scene

The Tale of the Allergist's Wife The pretentious art museum-opening, foreign movie-going, existentialist novel-reading world of our heroine Marjorie Taub (Penny Kols) is thrown topsy-turvy when a childhood friend (Lavonne Byers) suddenly reappears to remind Marjorie of how much she has missed. But no one seems to see this friend except Marjorie. Charles Busch's mischievous prank about the foolishness of life on the status-fixated Upper West Side of Manhattan has guffaws galore. It's not until the comedy is nearly over that a viewer begins to realize how much contempt Busch has for the characters he's satirizing. Though there's much to laugh at in this amusing New Jewish Theatre production, there's not a lot to like in the material. Through June 1 at the Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus, Creve Coeur. Tickets are $22 to $28 ($2 discount for seniors and JCC members). Call 314-442-3283 or visit www.newjewishtheatre.org. — Dennis Brown